JAVA: Safe to install it now?

[MacNoobGuy]

hey all, i'm new to the Mac and only arrived when this new virus that has infected 600,000 Macs. i read a site about a week that said do not install Java unless you really need it. so i've followed that advice and haven't installed Java yet. i'm running LibreOffice and every now and again it says it needs Java installed, but i'm able to cancel the prompt and continue using LibreOffice. however, the prompts are beginning to become annoying so i was wondering if it's safe for me to install Java without my system becoming compromised.

thanks all

 

[goRoostr]

Aslong as you make sure your Mac is up to date via Software Update you should be A ok. Apple released a patch a few weeks back correcting the java issue.

 

[MacNoobGuy]

ok thanks. i'd still rather not install java. is there any way i can turn off the error prompt?

 

[miles01110]

ok thanks. i'd still rather not install java. is there any way i can turn off the error prompt?

No. Stop latching on to buzzwords when you don't really know what you're talking about. If you don't want to install Java, use an alternative that doesn't require it.

 

[MacNoobGuy]

it's not an error prompt, but every now and again it'll pop up with a small box that'll say it needs java, but when i hit escape it goes away and i can go back to what i was doing.

 

[Xcallibur]

Soon enough you won't have to depend on Apple for slow patches on Java, Oracle is taking over responsibility for Java on OSX, you should be fairly safe then. So if your that paranoid, you should just disable the current version of Java on your machine and install a different office suite for the time being.

 

[MacNoobGuy]

ok thanks, this is the exact error i get, i copied it:

"To open “java,” you need a Java runtime. Would you like to install one now?"

 

[Xcallibur]

ok thanks, this is the exact error i get, i copied it:

"To open “java,” you need a Java runtime. Would you like to install one now?"

The Oracle based Java is only available as a developer preview at the moment so I wouldn't use that if I were you. Basically your only options are to either install an office suite which does not rely on Java in some form, install Apple's current version of Java and use LibreOffice or remove Java and put up with the occasional error or two; your choice.